Nightmares
by SoTotallyOsm
Summary: For years now Kadar's had these visions in the form of nightmares.


Malik / Kadar / Altair - General Fic

Age Group: [ Malik: 12, Kadar: 8 ; Malik: 26, Altair: 25, Kadar: 22]

Kadar's Nightmares

All was silent, save for the occasional spark and crumbling of the cobblestone wall's torches. The night air was calm and bitterly chilly outside of the fortress of Masyaf. Should anyone have their windows open, the midnight's moonlight would filter in and provide any light not given by torches.

Both Al-Sayf's had been given quarters to themselves at first, but upon high demand from both of them Al Mualim eventually agreed to allowing them to have a single room for them both. Malik being too protective of his younger brother Kadar, he didn't like the idea of him being alone and for one reason or another not being there should he need help. Considering they were not allowed outside of their quarters past the given curfew, Malik insisted that he would break the rules constantly to check on his brother if he felt it was necessary.

Since they were both fostered from the Assassin's personal harem, they didn't know their parents nor were they allowed to know who was their mother from the harem. Malik had taken care of Kadar since he was presented with him when Kadar was only a few years old. Al Mualim had told the young Malik that the infant was birthed from the same two people as he, so he was his legitimate brother and was to care for him until he was old enough to train to become an assassin. Malik, of course, agreed and took great pride in having a younger brother to call his own blood. Ever since he'd grown protective of his new baby brother and vowed to keep him safe and ensure he'd be the top of his class once he began training.

Normally Kadar kept to himself during the day, allowing his older brother to study and do "assassin things" as the younger liked to put it. On occasion Malik would let him look through his notes and scrolls he would borrow from the library, snickering to himself when Kadar would ask questions and have to tell him, "I'll tell you when you're older, Kadar." Of course the young Al-Sayf knew his brother was an assassin; he knew the entire fortress was full of them and that Al Mualim was their master and mentor. He would always spend his time in the library when Malik was away, or sit in their room by the window and watch the training that occurred in the middle of the fortress. It fascinated Kadar, and whenever he could he would try to prove to Malik that he'd be just like him (or better!).

There was always one thing that Malik worried most about with Kadar, and that one thing was: Kadar was too kind hearted. To become an assassin, Al Mualim preferred his assassins to be cold and calculating, having no connection to their families, and to not be bogged down with the love associated with such. Malik was given Kadar because Malik had shown superior talent and was trusted to train his brother the same. However, the older assassin knew that his brother was different from everyone else. He didn't want to become an assassin to kill, he wanted to be an assassin so he could be like his older brother. He didn't want to train with swords because he had hate, regret, and blood lust buried deep in his soul, he wanted to train because it was cool and he wanted to prove to Malik that he would be better than him one day. He didn't want to get a hidden blade because he wanted to be stained with corrupted blood, but because it showed his faith to his and his brother's cause: the Creed. Kadar was very well mannered, as Malik had taught him to be, and never questioned the wrong doings of others. Malik knew that Kadar would become one of the best assassins, but he would be different because he whole-heartedly believed in his brother and the Creed, not because he wanted to be better than everyone else.

Another thing Malik knew was that Kadar's first few missions would probably be his worst. He had seen the poor boy heave his guts up on the ground when he saw the aftermath of a siege on Masyaf; citizens and brothers alike had been killed by a Templar invasion on the city. He could only imagine what he would feel like to kill someone by his own hands.

And as Malik gets woken by a gentle tug on his sleeve in the middle of the night, he remembers that Kadar was still so young to be experiencing such horrible things. The older boy sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, giving his sniffling brother a confused look. He also remembers that Kadar has bad nightmares frequently, and that the poor boy will most likely be plagued by his first kills for a while.

"Can I... Can I sleep with you?" The younger's voice was cracked; it was obvious he'd been crying to himself for a bit before getting the courage to approach him.

"What's wrong, Kadar?" Malik sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and through his short hair. He pursed his lips and looked over Kadar once more before nodding anyways.

Kadar sniffled again, wiping his nose on his sleeve near his shoulder before crawling under the blankets and curling up against the multiple pillows. Small hands gripped his brother's night shirt as he lay back down next to him, fingers tugging on the cotton fabric and pulling himself closer to bury his face against Malik's side.

"This is the second time this week... Are you alright?" The young Malik slipped an arm under his brother, holding him close and knowing if he fell asleep this way his arm would certainly be numb come morning.

"... I had the same one a few months ago..."

_A few months ago...? _Malik thought back, trying to remember if anything particularly bad happened then as well. He only recalled being woken up in a similar manner and the other telling him of a rather strange dream he had. It seemed to hit him all of a sudden, blinking in slight surprise and pulling Kadar closer to comfort him.

"I'm sorry. Did you want to talk about it..?"

"... It's not your fault." His voice cracked again near the end, his breath shuddering as he inhaled. A heavy sigh. "It.. It went further this time. I swear I _felt_ it, Brother."

"What do you mean? Feel what?" He eyed him carefully, only remembering that the nightmare he had had those months prior involved an interpreted death.

"The sword, Brother! I swear... I thought I felt it go right through me-" A series of hiccups and low sobbing sounds interrupted his explanation. Tears stained his older brother's clothing. He murmured low 'I'm sorry's under his breath between the hiccups and sniffles.

"It's alright, Kadar. Shhh..." Malik lifted his free hand to calmly pat down his brother's hair in a soothing manner. "Don't think about it. It was only your imagination; I'm here, you're here, and I'll keep you safe. Try to calm down and get some sleep. Daybreak is but a few hours from now."

Kadar nodded his head and eventually the sniffling died down to even breathing, indicating he'd finally fallen asleep. Despite being tired, Malik had stayed awake to make sure fell asleep soundly. The next day was going to be a long one...

"Kadar! Kadar, wake up!" Malik shook the younger man's shoulder to wake him. Said man quickly sat up in his bed, eyes wide and out of breath. He'd had another nightmare, and he must have gotten night sweats sometime during the night.

Blue eyes focused and glanced over to worried deep brown. Catching his breath, Kadar forced a smile and waved off the incident. "Ah, I'm sorry, Brother... What time is it..?"

Malik didn't seem convinced, frowning as he tried to change the subject. "It's time to get up. Were you having a nightmare..?" The master assassin leaned back to stand straight and crossed his arms, demanding the younger assassin to give him an answer.

The journeyman faltered a moment before sighing, shoulders dropping. "Yeah... The recurring one..." It'd been a few years since he'd had nightmares last.

"..." Malik gave him a once over, nodding and turning to gather the younger's belongings. "Get ready, Al Mualim wishes for us to head to Jerusalem as soon as possible. You can tell me about it on the ride there. Make sure Altair doesn't hear you, though." He rolled his eyes, handing his brother his robes and weapons.

Kadar and Malik eventually forgot about that morning's incident, what with getting their supplies together, going over the mission's details for the hundredth time, and dealing with Altair's pointed arguments over said details. That, and Altair had the great idea to have their mounts go full gallop nearly the entire ride there to get there faster.

Needless to say, the younger never got a chance to discuss his so-called nightmare with his older brother. After the mission, however, Malik finally understood what his brother had been so scared of all the times he'd had that nightmare.

And he wished he could have comforted him one last time.


End file.
